Providence Journal photo/ Mary Murphy
Governor Chafee shakes hands with Providence Mayor Angel Taveras as Chafee announces more than $2 million in summer employment programs for Rhode Islanders between the ages of 14 and 24. Sitting to the viewers' right is state Department of Labor and Training Director Charles Fogarty and Cranston Mayor Allan Fung.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Two of first-term Governor Chafee's potential 2014 challengers joined him at the State House Thursday to hail a $2.1 million summer-jobs program that will provide minimum-wage jobs for 1,500 Rhode Islanders aged 14 to 24.
Sharing the spotlight were Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, a Democrat, and Cranston Mayor Allan Fung,a Republican. The event marked the first joint appearance of the three since Chafee, a former Republican elected governor as an independent, became a Democrat last week.
His party switch places him in a potential Democratic primary fight with both Taveras and state Treasurer Gina Raimondo, with the winner potentially facing Fung in a general election. At this point, none have officially announced their candidacies.
The program that drew them together is an annual event.
The funding for the youth jobs comes from the Governor's Workforce Board and the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, including $1.5 million raised from an assessment on employers and $600,000 from the federally-funded family welfare program.
The same amount of money was available last year from the two state departments.